Ashley Lowe is the Senior Instructor/Manager at Jeramy Black’s Taekwondo Academy. She says, “We strive to train tomorrow’s leaders today by equipping children with the knowledge of not only self-defense, but also character development skills, such as leadership, respect, confidence, courage, commitment, and determination that will ultimately last them a lifetime.”
Her greatest accomplishment has been achieving her 5th degree black belt. ‘In the 20 years that Mr. Black has been open, I am his only student that has achieved this level. This accomplishment took 13 years,’ she says. ‘My next big accomplishment will come in the Fall of 2022. I will be testing for the 6th degree master level black belt. Currently we are focused on providing the best training experience for the students, however, toward the end of the year, I will begin preparing for my next testing.’
The most influential people in life for Ashley have been her family members. She adds, ‘My grandfather was in the military for many years, and the strength that my grandmother had to have while constantly relocating, raising 3 children, and sometimes not knowing where my grandfather was while he was deployed, is incredible. I also look to my uncle, my instructor, as a major influence and role model. He demonstrates how to run a successful and thriving business, while maintaining his character and morals.’
“My best advice,” Ashley adds, “is to set goals often (personal and professional) and stay focused on those goals. By setting them, this gives you something to strive for. There will be obstacles along the way, however, those obstacles just test how bad we want to achieve our goal. By overcoming those obstacles, we demonstrate and prove how bad we want to achieve. When the goal seems unachievable, take a look back at how far you have already come and use that as motivation to keep going. I have used this throughout college, my martial arts training, and my fitness journey.”
Over the years, Ashley has learned that the people you surround yourself with have the biggest influence on you. ‘Pay attention to who you surround yourself with and make sure that aligns with who you want to be. It is never too late to start something new or to start a new hobby. You want to look back and say “I am glad that I tried that,” and not, “I wish I would have tried that." Find people who empower you and challenge you, and then empower and challenge others.’
As for her resources, she shares, ‘I have several pages that I follow on social media that provide not only business tips and tricks, but also motivation for both my personal and professional life. These include Dave Kovar on Facebook: he is at the top of the martial arts industry as a business owner, martial artist, and instructor; Real Business Owners on Instagram: this provides a lot of good business tips; Proactive Coaching on Facebook, this provides motivational items for teaching as well as personally.’
In her free time, Ashley goes to the gym 4-5 mornings each week. She explains, ‘I use this time for me, I clear my head and just focus on myself. With my time off, I enjoy rock climbing and traveling.’
Moving forward, Ashley’s personal goals include completing a Tough Mudder in a faster time than before, achieving a certain difficulty level in rock climbing, as well as traveling to all of the US states. Her professional goals include achieving her 6th degree black belt as well as helping the business reach the milestone of 350 members.
You can follow Ashley on her Facebook page here dedicated specifically for her martial arts training, and she also shares motivational content.
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